Thursday, 27 September 2012

Training and Comps

After a long summer of
comps and trips, its time to settle back into training for the rest of this
years comps. After identifying endurance as a weakness of mine, as soon as I
got back from Imst I began working hard to get the upper levels I need for European
competitions.

Because of the general
shortness (in comparison to Europe that is) of the walls in the South West,
laps are essential to get the amount of pump required, so 6x4s (6 times up a
route, 4 times in a session) have been the main constituents of my sessions over
the last months. One thing I have noticed recently, my route climbing has
improved hugely in terms of my ability to hold on for longer without getting
pumped, but my bouldering has seemed to suffer slightly.

The Quay birthday comp showed
this well, and while I topped all of the routes (including an 8a set by Steve
McClure) first go, my bouldering was terrible, flashing just 2 of the 6
problems and only getting another 3rd go. Bouldering never has been
a massive strong point of mine, but the extra power on a hard route is always
nice!

The next week was the last
round and the final of The Barn’s bouldering series. I was in second coming
into the round, with a large gap to 3rd, so I could afford to sit
back a bit and save my energy for the final. I got through in second, along
with Tom Newberry, Matt Parkinson and Jack Luckhurst in 1st , 3rd
and 4th respectively.

It started well, with me
topping the first slab on the flash, and only Tom did it second go. Things were
looking good, but on the second, more powerful but slightly easier problem, a
small dab was ruled too hard to be just a touch, and I could only manage 2nd
go because of this. This meant I was joint first with Tom going into the last
problem, a hard, powerful roof sequence.

First go I missed a press into
a poor gaston on the roof, but Tom flashed the problem so my chances of winner
were gone completely. All I had to do left now was top the problem, and on my 3rd
and final attempt I very nearly did just that, touching the final hold before
my fingers gave up. Still a very good second, but my bouldering could defiantly
be improved.

Finally, I have decided
the winter project! Tuppence, 8b at Ansteys Cove. Initially with a slightly
easier, more indirect, start but then the full tick when I’ve got that. This is
the start of the 8b+ extension Tuppence Ha’ Penny, so could be a very good long
term goal! Time to get on it!

Also, I finally have
twitter, so if you want regular updates on my climbing and training just follow
me @Alex_Waterhouse!

Alex

Psyched for BLCCs next
week and the European Championships in just over a month!! :D